Death of ‚ÄėPatent Troll‚Äô Bill Is Mixed Blessing for Research Universities

May 22, 2014

Congress now seems unlikely this year to pass patent-reform legislation aimed at controlling so-called patent trolls. That‚Äôs both good news and bad news for the research universities that have been in the thick of the debate. The bad news, according to John C. Vaughn, executive vice president of the Association of American Universities, is that there will be no new law, yet ‚Äúthere is a problem out there to be solved.‚ÄĚ The good news, he says, is that proposals being pushed by the computer and information-technology industry, which many universities found ‚Äúreally quite problematic,‚ÄĚ are unlikely to be enacted this year either.